


We've Got Ourselves a Catch

by Impala_Chick



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Banter, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Dates, Getting Together, Holly Poly, Love Triangles, Missing Scene, Multi, Non-Sexual Intimacy, OT3, Polyamory, Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-10 14:14:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17427455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Impala_Chick/pseuds/Impala_Chick
Summary: Simon conspires with Jace to get Clary to take a break after losing her mother. Simon might not have intended for it to be a dinner date, but he's pleasantly surprised to learn that the three of them actually fit together.A missing scene from season two.





	We've Got Ourselves a Catch

**Author's Note:**

  * For [talkingtothesky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/talkingtothesky/gifts).



> I'm glad I saw your letter! I incorporated a few of your tags, hope you enjoy :)

Clary had not taken any time for herself since her mother’s death, and Simon was worried about her. Simon would stop by after she hit it hard in the gym, sweat pouring down her face and her arms littered with scratches from Izzy or Jace’s weapons. She constantly threw herself into shadowhunter duties, staying up long hours studying runes or cleaning weapons instead of talking to Simon. He had avoided asking her about it because he didn't want to agitate her.

Simon tried to get Clary to come over this house a couple of times, just to watch a movie, but she kept brushing him off. She had said she had a mission to prep for, or a practice session already planned. He even bought her new charcoal, but she said she was too busy to draw. Simon was starting to feel like he was out of options. He thought about marching over there and bodily escorting Clary to the nearest coffee shop, but he couldn’t go into the Institute anymore without dealing with Aldertree.

So he came up with a plan. There was one other person who knew of who cared about Clary just as much as he did, and Simon figured if there was ever a reason to conspire with his arch nemesis, it was now. 

“Hey, Jace. Look, I think that-” 

“Lewis. What do you want?” Jace’s voice was gruff, but at least he hadn’t hung up yet.

“Clary needs our help,” Simon started again. “I know you’re Mister ‘Emotion Makes Us Weak’, but I think we can at least agree that Clary should _probably_ eat more regularly.” 

“I can’t help her,” he said, his voice rushed. He paused to take a breath. “It’s just, maybe I shouldn’t be around her right now,” Jace finished. 

“I admire your self control, Jace. Really, it’s like you’re not even human sometimes. But Clary needs us, and I am asking you to help me. I can’t get into the Institute without causing an uproar, but you can get to Clary. Have her come to the boathouse. We’ll all eat dinner or something.”

“You really think a couple slices of pizza is going to help her?” Jace was as sarcastic as ever. Simon huffed out a laugh, both annoyed and amused.

“It’s not about the food. It’s about helping her take a break and letting her catch her breath. So we can show her that we care and we support her,” Simon explained.

“But, you sure you want _me_ to help?” Jace sounded cautious and unsure, and Simon almost felt bad about it. It was never his intent to make Jace feel like they couldn’t hang with each other. 

“I’m asking you, aren’t I?”

“Fine. I’ll get her over there after dark,” Jace said. Before Simon could respond, he heard the click signaling Jace had hung up. 

Simon sighed. Now was not the time to bemoan his relationship with Jace. He had a boathouse to clean and dinner to pick up.

\---

When the metal door slid open, Simon turned around to usher Jace and Clary inside. Clary’s mouth was pressed into a thin line, and her eyebrows were knitted together angrily. She looked pissed. Jace didn’t look much happier.

“What’s this emergency, Simon? We are really busy at the Institute right now, and I can’t really believe you need both of us for whatever it is that’s going on,” Clary said sharply. Simon was not surprised to realize that even righteous anger looked good on her. Simon shot an accusing look at Jace, hoping he would offer an explanation. He shrugged, but didn’t say anything. Tonight was supposed to be about Clary, not about either of them, so Simon sighed and stepped aside, to reveal the small table, set with Chinese food in takeout cartons, a cheese pizza from Clary’s favorite place, lit candles, and bottles of cream soda, champagne, and blood. Clary stared at the table for a moment, and then promptly turned to walk right back out of the boathouse.

“Hey, hey, hey. You have to at least eat something sometime,” Jace said as he stepped in front of Clary and grabbed her arms. Jace looked over her shoulder at Simon, his eyes wide like he wanted Simon to say something. 

“Clarissa Fray, if we have to lock those doors we will. You haven’t taken a single moment for yourself since… everything. The institute can make it without you for one night,” Simon said. 

Clary turned back around to face him, and he stuck out his bottom lip to plead with her. He knew if he kept that up he’d either get Clary to laugh or roll her eyes, effectively breaking the tension. It had worked in the past.

Clary looked between Jace and Simon and sighed, resigned. “Fine. Dinner.”

Clary patted Simon’s arm as she walked by to go to the table, and Simon smiled softly at her. Jace walked over to the table too, but not before he gave Simon a thumbs up while Clary wasn’t looking. Simon couldn’t help but grin crookedly at him. He could be a smug bastard one minute and a total dork the next, which made him infuriating to Simon most of the time. Some of the time, Simon found it charming. Only some of the time, though.

The three of them settled onto the big cushions surrounding the small table, and it was awkward for a moment as Clary and Jace both looked over at Simon. No one was sure what to say.

“Don’t worry, my drink is vampire approved,” Simon said. He shook the metal canister in front of him, smiling. Clary laughed softly, and Simon moarned the fact that he hadn't heard her laugh in so long. The sound was lovely. Jace didn’t waste any time digging into the food after that.

As the night went on, Simon marveled at how natural it was for the three of them to sit together. It had always been easy for Simon to talk to Clary, but they weren’t the only ones doing all the talking. Jace was sarcastic and teasing like usual, but there was no sting to his words. And as Simon started to relax, he noticed Jace was intentionally including him in conversation. Maybe because they were both focused on Clary instead of on competing with each other, their dynamic was different. Simon secretly soaked up the attention from Clary and Jace like a sponge. 

Later, Jace got up to clear off the empty food cartons, and Simon nearly did a double take.

“He cleans?” Simon asked, if only to provoke a laugh from Clary. It worked.

“You’d be surprised how many skills I have that you could only dream of,” Jace shot back over his shoulder. 

“Yeah, just the other day I saw him doing laundry,” Clary chimed in. 

“Wow, I think we’ve got ourselves a catch,” Simon said. He meant it as a joke, but as he watched Clary’s face, he saw her gaze soften as she looked between them fondly. Neither she nor Jace laughed, and Simon felt the mood change into something more serious. Simon looked down at the ground, unsure of what to say at first. Maybe he was being too obvious about how much he was enjoying both of their company. Jace walked back towards them, and Simon felt the need to fill the silence before he started thinking too much about what Clary meant when she looked at them like _that_.

“I wanted… we both wanted to do something nice for you,” Simon said as Jace sat down on the other side of Clary.

“Tonight felt… normal,” Clary admitted. Jace’s bangs fell over his face as he looked over to catch Simon’s eye, his eyebrows knitted together like he was worried. Simon shook his head slightly, hoping Jace got the message. Normal was okay. In fact, in this case, normal was great.

Clary pulled out the large black pillow she had been sitting on in order to lay down. She pulled her hair out from under her so it fanned out against the black pillow. Simon leaned back on his elbow to look down at her, her smile radiant and peaceful. He hadn’t seen her smile like that in awhile. He turned his head to find Jace watching Clary too. But when he felt Simon’s eyes on him, he gazed at him and Simon felt his cheeks warm from the heat of it. The soft glow of the candles Simon had lit at the table illuminated both Clary and Jace’s faces, and Simon couldn’t help but admire them both. 

“It’s nice that you guys aren’t fighting,” Clary added with a grin as she closed her eyes. Jace huffed a laugh.

“I hope you know just how much restraint I am showing for your benefit,” Jace said in answer. But he was staring at Simon as he said it. Simon ignored the chill that went up his spine. At least he did until he felt Clary reach up and take his hand. His body shuddered from the intimate contact. She wrapped her fingers around his and tugged him down to lay beside her, and Simon willingly followed. He felt his skin thrumming with nervous anticipation, not sure what to expect.

“Oh, I see how it is,” Jace said, as if he was bristling for a fight.

“Hush,” Clary admonished, before she reached out with her other hand and pulled Jace down beside her. The three of them lay quietly side by side for a few minutes. Simon intertwined his fingers with Clary’s, and held his breath as if he was afraid breathing too loud would break the spell that had descended upon them. Simon glanced at Clary. He watched her chest rise and fall with each breath, and then he glanced over at Jace, who had also closed his eyes. Both shadowhunters looked so delicate and unguarded that Simon felt his palms start to sweat from how intimate it felt, just laying there with them.

“I can feel you both overthinking this,” Clary mumbled.

“Well, I can tell you right now that Jace is not,” Simon immediately responded in jest.

“Hey!” Jace said as he propped himself up on his elbow to scowl at Simon.

“C’mon, that one was a little bit funny,” Clary said as she cracked one eye open to look up at Jace. Jace shrugged and flopped back down next to Clary.

“It _is_ nice when we aren’t fighting,” Simon finally said as he let himself close his eyes. He felt Clary squeeze his hand in answer, and he smiled.

“Yeah,” Jace agreed. Simon could hear both of their hearts beating, and the sound of the blood rushing through their veins made Simon crave to get closer to both of them. 

“Can I… stay here tonight?” Clary asked, hesitant. Simon felt her heart rate kick up as he touched her pulse point on her wrist, and Simon wondered vaguely why she was nervous. They had slept over at each other’s places plenty of times before.

“Of course,” Simon replied. He felt Jace shift on Clary’s other side, and then he started to get up.

“I, uh. I can go,” Jace said awkwardly. Simon sucked in a breath as he sat up, not wanting whatever peace they had created to be shattered so easily. Clary must have agreed, because she sat up without letting go of Simon’s hand.

“I don’t want you to leave. I kind of thought… it’s just that I like to be able to touch both of you. It makes me happy,” Clary said hesitantly. She looked over at Simon, her eyes wide and pleading. He knew that look. She wanted him to go along with her. He could still feel how fast her heart was pounding, as if she wasn’t sure what he would say. 

“Jace, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” Simon said firmly as he looked over at Jace. Jace looked between them, confused. Simon offered him a small smile and bit his lip, and Jace tracked the movement. 

“Can you both just hold me?” Clary asked, her voice sounding small. Simon immediately put his left arm around Clary, and reached out to Jace. Jace took the hint, and got down on his knees to envelope Clary and Simon in a group hug. Clary sighed, and her heart rate started to slow as Simon pushed his nose into her hair. Jace was so close that Simon could feel Jace's breath hot on his cheek.

Clary sank back into the pillows, and pulled them both with her. Simon nuzzled against her right side, his nose pressed into her neck. He put his left arm under her head, and he draped his right arm over her stomach. The contact instantly warmed his skin, and he was reminded of how his skin used to feel on a sunny summer day. Jace settled on Clary’s other side, and he draped his arm over Simon’s. Simon gripped Jace’s arm and traced his thumb over Jace’s skin. 

“My boys,” Clary breathed, and Simon’s heart swelled with pride at her words. He felt Jace turn his palm so that he could touch his fingertips to the underside of Simon’s forearm, and he could feel Clary smile against his cheek before she placed a kiss against his temple. 

Simon didn’t dare budge, and let the comforting sounds of their heartbeats lull him to sleep.


End file.
